In anticipation of that great moment when the clock finally strikes twelve, I thought it would be nice and refreshing to set forth some of the best champagne cocktails known ’round the world. I know that to some purists, the mixing of champagne with anything might seem unthinkable let alone undrinkable (almost) but for cocktail lovers, champagne or sparkling wine can be a choice ingredient with which to add other interesting flavours. Maybe it’s time to sample one or two in anticipation.
Champagne Cobbler
1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp curaçao, thin slice of orange, chilled champagne. Fill a large goblet half full of cracked ice. Add lemon juice, curaçao, and orange slice. Stir and fill glass with champagne or sparkling wine. Stir again ever so gently.
Regent’s Punch
Three bottles of Champagne or sparkling wine, two of Madeira, one of German white wine, an ounce of Curaçao, a quart of brandy, a pint of rum, two bottles of seltzer, four pounds of raisins, oranges and lemons, sugar, and all diluted with green tea.
Magna Carta
1-1/2 ounces well-chilled tequila, lime juice, 1 ounce well-chilled Triple Sec, salt, champagne or sparkling wine. Dip the rim of a chilled wine glass in lime juice, then salt. Pour in tequila and Triple Sec, then fill with champagne or sparkling wine. Stir gently.
Kir Royale
Pour iced champagne or sparkling wine into a large chilled wine glass, add 1/2 ounce of crème de cassis, and stir gently. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.
Golden Millennium
(King Cole Bar, St. Regis Hotel, NYC)
Place gold leaf in the bottom of a champagne flute, add a dash of Liqueur 43, and fill with champagne.
Savoy 2000
(American Bar, The Savoy, London)
Shake 2/3 ounce gin, 2/3 ounce Midori, 1/3 ounce Limoncello, 1-2/3 ounces mango juice. Pour into glass frosted with sugar, and top with champagne.
Ritzy Raspberry Revelry
(Hemingway Bar, Hotel Ritz, Paris)
Pour into a champagne flute 2/3 ounce vodka in which raspberries have macerated for at least 10 days. Finish with champagne. Garnish with a red rose (that’s right).
Polo Deux Milles
(Polo Lounge, Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows)
Pour 1/4 ounce Grand Marnier Cuvée du Centenaire into a champagne flute. Fill with 6 ounces of champagne. Splash 1/4 ounce Blue Curaçao on top.
Maimoun
(Churchill Piano Bar, La Mamounia, Marrakesh)
Combine 1/3 ounce Amaretto, 1/3 ounce fig alcohol (available in most liquor stores), 4 ounces of brut champagne, and a drop of mint syrup.
Chanel No. 6
(Because a lady can never have enough Chanel…)
Pour 1 ounce vodka, 1 ounce Chambord, and 1 ounce chilled pineapple juice into a champagne glass. Top with well-chilled champagne. Add a fresh raspberry.
Midnight Kiss Cocktail
Rim the edge of a wine glass with white or gold sugar. Pour 3/4 oz. well-chilled vodka into the glass, and fill with champagne or sparkling wine. Top with Blue Curaçao.
D’Artagnan
(The other three musketeers were unavailable for comment)
1 tsp Armagnac, 1 tsp Grand Marnier, 1/2 ounce chilled orange juice, 1/2 tsp simple syrup
champagne or sparkling wine. Pour ingredients, except champagne, into a champagne flute. Stir gently, then top with champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with an orange twist.
and last but not least, the very famous …
Chatham Artillery Punch
(More campaigns in history were lost because of this punch)
8 lemons, 1 pound superfine sugar, 750 ml bottle bourbon or rye, 750 ml bottle Cognac,750 ml bottle dark Jamaican rum, 3 bottles champagne or sparkling wine and nutmeg. Squeeze and strain the lemons to make 16 ounces of juice. Peel the lemons and muddle the peels with the sugar. Allow the peels and sugar to sit for an hour, then muddle again. Add the fresh lemon juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Strain out the peels. Fill a 2 to 3 gallon bucket or bowl with crushed ice or ice cubes. Add the lemon-sugar mixture and the bourbon, Cognac and rum. Stir and the the champagne. Taste and adjust for sweetness. Grate nutmeg over the top and serve. Serves 2 – 4 comfortably.